


That Distant Shore

by TrinityRain



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Kinda?, implied adrigami, slight Marichat, tikki and marinette bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:15:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23986663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrinityRain/pseuds/TrinityRain
Summary: Marinette can't keep chasing Adrien around while he loves someone else. Someday things will be better. Someday she'll get there. It just seems so far away.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug & Tikki
Comments: 12
Kudos: 113





	That Distant Shore

**Author's Note:**

> hellu! here's a little drabble i wrote for the weekly dialogue prompt of the miraculous writers gc. i like it a lot and think i might continue it when i have the time. perhaps some marichat may prompts could sneak their way into this and continue it. :) 
> 
> the title is inspired by the song of the same name from steven universe. i was listening to it while i wrote this and i def recommend [listening to it](https://youtu.be/-mJmt-F02PY) yourself!
> 
> anyway, i hope you enjoy it!! happy reading!! ♡

“You have someone else in your life and that’s fine. I’m happy for you. I want the best for you, and that wasn’t me, and that’s fine. But as selfish as this sounds, I can’t keep sitting here watching it like it doesn’t hurt me.”

Marinette couldn't meet Adrien's eyes, but she held her ground firmly. She wiped the tear forming in the corner of her eye, flicking the drop away before returning her hand to a fist at her side.

"I love you Adrien. I love you in every way that a person could love someone, but I love myself even more. Maybe one day I can handle this, but not today. I have to take care of myself and that means having the space to move on. As much as I want the best for you, I want the best for me too," her voice cracked, but she pushed on. "So I have to stay away from you to go find it. Thank you for your friendship, I can't wait to experience it again when I am in a better place."

And with that, Marinette left a speechless Adrien sitting on a park bench. She walked away, out of his line of sight, and finally let all of her tears out. 

"That was very brave of you, Marinette," Tikki said, emerging from Marinette's bag once they were hidden in an alley. "I'm very proud of you. That was a hard, but good thing to do."

Marinette wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "Thanks, Tikki. I just wish it didn't hurt so much."

Tikki zipped up to Marinette’s face, fiercely hugging her cheek. “I know, I know,” she murmured. “It’s going to sting for a while, but you’ll grow every day until one day you’ll have grown so far that it doesn’t hurt anymore. You couldn’t stay there, chasing after him, worrying about his happiness even when it meant hurting you. You need to grow into your own person that doesn’t revolve around him, find your own happiness. You’ll get there, Marinette, you’ll get there.” She stroked Marinette’s cheek softly, a calming presence that Marinette was incredibly grateful for. “Better days are coming. I promise.”

Marinette leaned into the kwami’s embrace, tears streaming down her face and dropping onto Tikki’s head. “I know they are, they just seem so far away.”

“I know.” Tikki wiped the tears from Marinette’s face and flew into her arms.

They stayed like that for a while, hugging in a dark alley while the rest of the world was left ignored. Marinette’s shuddering breaths gradually slowed down, Tikki’s warmth in her arms like an anchor stabilizing her. 

“Thanks, Tikki,” Marinette said when they finally broke apart, “let’s go home.” She looked out onto the street, the setting sun illuminating the Parisian streets in a warm glow. “I don’t feel like being Marinette right now. Let’s take the scenic route home.”

In a flash of red, Marinette disappeared and Ladybug emerged from the dark alley instead. She threw her yoyo, the magical tool wrapping around a metal bar on a rooftop nearby, and flew off into the Paris skyline. She ran and swung on the rooftops, letting the wind whip her hair and thoughts back. The warmth from the sun welcomed her, kissing her face as she closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of freedom. She stopped at the Eiffel tower, sitting down on one of the metal ledges and letting her legs dangle. She watched the last of the sun disappear over the Seine. She took a deep breath, then another, and another. Today sucked. 

But tomorrow. Tomorrow will suck less. And the next day even less and so on until the days don’t suck. Like Tikki said, one day it will stop and something new, something better would start. It seemed far away, but she’d get there. “I promise,” she murmured, echoing her kwami’s words from earlier.

~*~

Ladybug dropped down onto her balcony, making sure no one saw her in the dark of the night. She opened the trapdoor into her room and fell into her bed, detransforming as she went down. She sighed, rolling to her side and grabbing onto a pillow, hugging it tight. Too tired to change, she shrugged off her pants and jacket and buried herself under the covers. “Goodnight, Tikki.”

Tikki grabbed Marinette’s abandoned clothes and draped them over her chaise, zipping back up to the bed to place a kiss on Marinette’s forehead before settling into the pillow next to her. “Goodnight, Marinette.”

~*~

The morning light leaked into the room, waking Marinette up from her peaceful sleep. 

“Good morning, sleepy!”

Marinette turned to see Tikki floating in the air next to her. She rubbed her eyes. “What time is it?”

“Early for you,” Tikki teased, “it’s only 10:16.” She flew down to grab onto Marinette’s hand, only managing to wrap her little arm around Marinette’s index finger. “I went up to pick some raspberries for your breakfast when I found a package for you!” She tugged Marinette towards the trapdoor that lead to the balcony.

“Who would be leaving me a package? And how?”

Surely enough, a package was waiting for Marinette when she came out, sitting by her berry plants. She took it into her hands, turning it over to inspect every visible inch of it. All she saw was “ _To Marinette_ ” written in green, loopy writing. When she opened it, she saw a single pink rose sitting on top of lots of other individually wrapped items. Tied to the rose with a string was a little card with that same green penmanship. She opened the card and began reading:

_Marinette,_

_I noticed you crying yesterday, but thought I shouldn’t intrude, so I left you alone. I know this might seem strange, but I have grown to think of you as a friend and I couldn’t let you go on without doing something about it, so I made you this care package. I hope you like it and that you feel better soon._

_Chat Noir_

Marinette smiled. Even out of the costume, that cat was always there for her. “Thank you, mon chaton,” she whispered. 

Placing the rose gently behind her, she turned back to the box to reveal its contents. The first item turned out to be beautiful pink lace and the second was a very nice black silk. Marinette wondered how Chat could afford such lovely fabric, especially for someone like her. She almost didn’t see it, but she noticed a little note attached to the wrapping paper.

" _Here’s some fabric. My parents like to sew and they had some extra lying around. I’m sure you could put them to good use!"_ That silly kitty, she thought, this is too much.

The next few items were matching threads and extra pins, followed by some chocolate candies and calming tea. One oddly shaped item turned out to be a Chat Noir mug filled with matching fuzzy socks. A note that said " _To my biggest fan ;3"_ was attached.

The final item was a framed and signed picture of Chat, with a note that said " _I'm not sure if you’d like everything in here, so here’s a signed picture you can sell. It’d probably go for a lot and you could buy your own fabric with it_ . _You could also buy some ice cream. I was gonna add some but I realized it'd melt."_ Marinette smiled, deciding she wasn’t going to sell it and instead placed it on her desk next to the pictures of her friends.

“That was really nice of Chat Noir!” Tikki said, “Who knew he cared so much!”

Marinette smiled. “It really was. Definitely made me feel better.” She packed everything back into the box and headed inside. “I wish I could repay him somehow.”

Tikki flew into the box and wrapped herself up in the silk. "I'm sure you'll think of something." 

Marinette sat in her swivel chair, chewing on a pen thoughtfully and smiling at a mental image of Chat. "Yeah, I'm sure I will."

**Author's Note:**

> hope you liked that! sorry for the vague ending, but i have a lot of ideas for where this could go, so perhaps this story will grow. if you did like it, pleaseeee leave kudos and comments. i am a glutton for love and feedback. thank you for reading!
> 
> [follow me on tumblr!](https://lesbiien.tumblr.com/) | [support my work](https://ko-fi.com/TrinityRain)


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